Chinese electric car brand BYD may be a newcomer to the UK market but it has big plans for Western markets. Al Suttie checks out its Atto 3 SUV.

BYD Atto 3 Design

List price (BiK): £39,695 (2%) CO2: 0g/km Economy: 260 miles Test efficiency: 242 miles

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Monday

“What is it?” has already become a familiar question with the BYD Atto 3 that arrived this morning, and it’s only mid-afternoon. Explaining the company is called Build Your Dreams only seems to confuse people further, so it takes a bit longer to run through that this is a new-to-the-UK Chinese brand with more models on the way. Overwhelmingly, the response has been very positive, which is encouraging for the Atto 3’s maker.

Tuesday

The moment my kids were shown that the strings over the door pockets work like a guitar’s to play a tune, it consigned any thoughts of a quiet journey this morning to the bin. No matter, it’s also kept them amused and, possibly, learning a new instrument. It is a bit of a gimmick but, you know what, I like the strings and they add a bit of fun to the BYD’s decently made and styled cabin.

Wednesday

The Atto 3 has been unerringly accurate in its readout for miles to empty on the dash display. At my destination this morning, there was a charge station close by, so I plugged in for the hour or so I’d be there. Expecting to top up a little, I was very pleased to find the BYD was on 92% charge when I finished and not from a particularly fast charger. This makes life so much easier with this car than other EVs I’ve tried recently.

Thursday

The Atto 3 is endearing itself more and more as I spend time in it. As well as swift charging and a roomy cabin, it’s comfortable and quiet at all speeds. On top of that, BYD has judged the ride quality very well as it happily smooches over ravaged road surfaces with none of the crash, bang, wallop of some EV rivals. Perhaps this is down to BYD making everything for its cars, bar the glass and tyres. Regardless of this, it’s a well-judged set-up for a family SUV.

Friday

This Atto 3 is the top-spec Design trim, so it comes with the larger 15.6-inch infotainment touchscreen in place of the 12.8-inch item in the lower two trims. It’s massive and has clear, sharp graphics, though the menus could be a little easier to navigate. The party piece of the screen is it can rotate through 90 degrees between landscape and portrait orientations, which turns out to work far better than I’d thought for different screen uses.

Saturday

There is a lot to like about the way the Atto 3 drives, but there is also one fly in the ointment – the lane assist. Like almost all Chinese-made EVs, the lane guidance cuts in too early and way too aggressively. Whether it’s down to software or how Chinese drivers prefer it, it needs to be much more subtle in my view. It’s also an unnecessarily lengthy process of screen prodding to disarm the lane assist when a simple button would suffice.

Sunday

As well as “What is it?”, the other question that’s raised routinely is, “Would you buy one?” And I would. Compare the Atto 3’s equipment, specification, charge time and driving range with most rivals at this price point and the BYD has them soundly beat. An expanding dealer network also bodes well for fleet users looking to drive an EV as their company choice.